Gita Rahasya -Tilak 105

Karma Yoga Sastra -Tilak

CHAPTER V THE CONSIDERATION OF HAPPINESS AND UNHAPPINESS (SUKHA-DUHKHA-VIVEKA) The external objects in the world are technically known as ' matra ', and the above statement in the Gita means- that the contact (sparsa), i. e., the union of these external objects with our organs results in the suffering (vedana) of pain or happiness. That is also the doctrine of the science of Karma- Yoga. Nobody can satisfactorily explain why a harsh sound is undesirable to the ear, or why a sweet drink is pleasurable to the tongue, or why the light of the full moon is pleasing to the eyes. All that we know is that when the tongue gets a sweet liquid to taste, it is satisfied. As Material Happiness is, by its very nature, wholly dependent on the organs, happiness is very often experienced by merely carrying on the particular activities of the organs, whatever the ultimate result of our doing so may be. For instance, the words which sometimes naturally escape our lips when some idea enters our mind, are- not uttered by us with the idea of acquainting someone else- with our thoughts. On the other hand, there is sometimes even a risk of some hidden design or scheme in our minds being divulged by these automatic activities of the organs, and of our being thereby harmed. When little children first learn to walk, they aimlessly walk about the whole day, because they then experience happiness by the mere act of walking. Therefore, the Blessed Lord, instead of saying that all happiness consists of the absence of unhappiness, says that -.-"indriyasyen- driyasyarthe raga dvesau vyavasthitau" , i. e,, the attrac- tion and repulsion which exists between the organs of the sense on the one hand, and their relative objects, such as, sound, touch, etc., on the other hand, are both 'vyavasthi', i.e., funda- mentally self-existing ; and His advice is that all that we have to see is how these activities will become beneficial or can be made by us beneficial to our Atman; and that therefore, instead of attempting to destroy the natural impulses of the mind, or of the organs, we should keep our mind and organs under control in order that those impulses should be beneficial to us, and not let the impulses get out of control. This advice, and saying that one should destroy Thirst and along with Thirst all other mental impulses, are two diametrically opposite things.